Where does grace come from? It is a common belief that Grace is a flow of light from a God sitting some where in this universe or outside of it (Heaven?). But a matured mind which is backed-up by the intellect this fanciful idea will not be accepted. The Vedic tradition does not believe in God sitting elsewhere other than the "Self". If God is everywhere, then the closest distance of God should be your own Self. Therefore Grace also must come from within. We understand that pure awareness is the very source of Grace too.

The immediate question that arises is that , if grace is within, then why is that every one does not grace all the time. Some one who thinks about God or any super natural power resides outside our reach, this Vedic concept is hard to appreciate in the beginning. But through Self experience one can understand that grace comes from once's own pure Awareness state.

Spiritual masters answer the above question with very good illustrations. Saint Mata Amritananada Mayi Devi, also called Ammachi or hugging saint, puts it with a beautiful example. She says "Grace" is always present round the clock for all of us, but is untapped because of the impurity of the Ego mind. Like a lantern, grace is the light that cannot reach out if the glass (mind) of the lantern is covered with dark black soot (Ego). Just by cleaning even a small area of the glass can bring out light from inside. Similarly, only if the mind is purified, grace will be received.

Why are eyes closed while doing prayers?

Prayers are like the cleaning agents that can clean the dirt (Ego) from the mind and let the light of Grace from the self be available from us. This is why while doing prayers the eyes are closed, so that the awareness is turned inside and not outside. Only through awareness the purification of the mind can be acheived.